Automated cyclotron tuning using beam phase measurements

The ACCEL K250 superconducting cyclotron is specifically designed for the use in proton therapy systems. The compact medical 250 MeV proton accelerator fulfils all present and future beam requirements for fast scanning treatment systems and is delivered as a turn key system; no operator is routinely required. During operation of the cyclotron heat dissipation of the RF system induces a small drift in iron temperature. This temperature drift slightly detunes the magnetic field and small corrections must be made. A non-destructive beam phase detector has been developed to measure and quantify the effect of a magnetic field drift. Signal calculations were made and the design of the capacitive pickup probe was optimised to cover the desired beam current range. Measurements showed a very good agreement with the calculated signals and beam phase can be measured with currents down to 3 nA. The measured phase values are used as input for a feedback loop controlling the current in the superconducting coil. The magnetic field of the cyclotron is tuned automatically and online to maintain a fixed beam phase. Extraction efficiency is thereby optimised continuously and activation of the cyclotron is minimised. The energy and position stability of the extracted beam are well within specification.